FinalBurn Neo
FinalBurn Neo is a free emulator for arcade games and selected consoles, available on Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows.
What FinalBurn Neo is
FinalBurn Neo is a free emulator for arcade games and selected consoles, available on Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its supported systems include Capcom CPS-1, CPS-2, and CPS-3, Neo Geo, and Sega System 16. Based on FinalBurn and older versions of MAME, the project aims to run vintage games on modern systems. Listed capabilities include accurate emulation, high performance, netplay, rewinding, and shader effects. The project documents Windows, macOS, Linux SDL, and Raspberry Pi builds, along with a LibRetro port available through RetroArch for many platforms. It recommends SDL2 over SDL1.2; the SDL2 port adds a better renderer, on-screen display, game selection, and ROM scanning. Linux SDL2 builds require SDL2, SDL2_image, GCC, make, Perl, and NASM. On macOS, the emulator accepts keyboard and mouse input, but not joysticks; its launcher can import ZIP and 7z archives. The listed free-use terms allow use, modification, and distribution, but not sale or monetary profit. ROM images require legal distribution rights.
Good
- Supports Capcom CPS systems, Neo Geo, and Sega System 16.
- Netplay, rewinding, and shader effects are listed.
- LibRetro builds are available through RetroArch.
- Free to use, modify, and distribute.
Watch out
- MacOS joystick input is unsupported.
- Linux SDL2 builds require several development tools.
- Listed terms prohibit sale or monetary profit.
- ROM images require legal distribution rights.
Who it suits
FinalBurn Neo is suited to retro gaming enthusiasts looking to run arcade games and selected consoles on modern systems. It also fits users seeking netplay, rewinding, or shader effects.
Verdict
FinalBurn Neo covers a range of arcade systems and selected consoles, with multiple build options and features such as netplay and rewinding. Check the platform-specific limits and listed use terms before choosing it.
Plans and prices
From FinalBurn Neo's own pricing page, checked 1 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free and open source | Free | May be used, modified, and distributed · Cannot be sold or used for monetary profit · ROM images require legal distribution rights |
| Free software | Free | Non-commercial use · source changes must be shared · ROMs are not included |
The facts
Each one read from FinalBurn Neo's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Accuracy and speed
- The project says it prioritizes accurate, high-performance emulation for vintage hardware.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Arcade coverage
- The project supports systems including Capcom CPS-1, CPS-2, CPS-3, Neo Geo and Sega System 16.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Console coverage
- The Libretro documentation lists drivers for systems such as NES, SNES, Mega Drive, Master System, ColecoVision, PC Engine, Neo Geo Pocket and ZX Spectrum.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Contribution policy
- The project welcomes pull requests and other submissions and aims to maintain C++03 compliance as a minimum.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Developer portability
- The maintainers target at least C++03 compatibility and invite pull requests and new ports.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation and support
- Users are directed to GitHub issues and the NeoSource forums, with Discord also linked from the repository.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Emulation scope
- It emulates systems including Capcom CPS-1, CPS-2, CPS-3, Neo Geo, and Sega System 16.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Extensibility
- The source tree separates emulation, drivers, frontend, CPU code, dependencies and platform interfaces to support ports.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Feature matrix
- LibRetro documentation lists saves, save states, rewind, run-ahead, preemptive frames, netplay, cheats, controllers, multi-mouse, IPS patches, ROM data and multilingual support.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent project scale
- The NeoSource community wiki describes FBNeo as an active open-source 2D emulator covering more than 8,000 arcade games across about 600 systems.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Key features
- The project describes accurate emulation, high performance, netplay, rewinding, and shader effects.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Latest news
- The repository's latest nightly release was published on October 15, 2026 and added Warrior Man support.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Licence
- The bundled licence permits use, modification and redistribution only on a non-commercial basis, requires source sharing and preserves copyright notices.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: frontend setup
- A LaunchBox forum user reported that ROM paths had to be configured and saved inside FBNeo before LaunchBox launches worked.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: RetroArch users
- Google Play reviewers complain about a difficult interface, weak documentation for file naming and netplay, and updates that broke saves or states.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: ROM-set compatibility
- Independent documentation warns that active development can change expected ROM sets, so ROM archives must match the core version and naming rules.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: security documentation
- GitHub reports that the repository has no SECURITY.md policy and no published security advisories.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: setup requirements
- LibRetro documentation requires exact CRC and archive layouts and lists numerous BIOS files for particular arcade and console systems.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: storage
- Retro Game Corps reports that the current FBNeo ROM set is about 17.6 GB, with a Neo Geo set around 2–4 GB.checked 15 Oct 2026
The company
- Company identity
- The official GitHub organization identifies the maker as FinalBurn Neo / Team FBNeo and lists related repositories for cheats, extras, translations and the wiki.checked 15 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Limit: controller mapping
- A LibRetro forum report describes an update that mapped one controller button to three actions and made many games unplayable until mappings were adjusted.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: macOS controls
- The macOS documentation identifies joystick input as unsupported.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: maintenance by platform
- The October 2026 release notes say standalone macOS and Linux ports are not actively maintained and may miss features, recommending LibRetro or Windows builds through Wine/Crossover.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Linux build
- Linux SDL2 builds can be compiled with make sdl2 and require SDL2, SDL2_image, GCC, make, Perl, and NASM.checked 1 Oct 2026
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